18 comments:

It depends... can he play Earl, Ray, Rashard, Collison, and Wilcox in crunch time rather than Luke, Ray, Rashard, Nick and Swift? I think he'll do alright, if he can coax some D out of Rashard or if they trade him for a defensive SF. Earl is a bad ass, Wilkins ain't shabby, Ray is a cold blooded killer no doubt, Nick is solid, Wilcox could be great if he stays motivated, the tall twins should be decent (for NBA center standards) and Luke and Rashard... can score?... They need to play defense, HARD. and board too, then they can win.

Bottom line: Bob Hill, with a mandate and a full training camp... its going to be brutal for anyone soft. (I HOPE!) NBA, no babies allowed. Byron Scotty is tellin the truth....

I think you got it covered, b_. Looking back on the champs of the modern era, powder puffs don't figure prominently on the rosters. No question that guys like Rashard and Luke have talent, but I wonder if they'll ever have the intestinal fortitude. The guys with the rings, it seems, are doubly blessed with the necessary skills and demeanor. I question whether anyone, Bob Hill or otherwise, could instill those qualities in dudes at this stage of their careers. It might be too late...

It's kind of bizarre how this town has turned on Rashard. If you look at his stats, he's actually having a better season this year than last (all stats are identical, with the exception of his picking up an extra assist/game this year), yet people talk about him as if he's the reason why the Sonics are floundering.

Honestly, I don't have any problem with Rashard being on the roster. If the Sonics had a decent veteran center this year, and if Watson and Wilcox had been here since day 1, the Sonics would be comfortably ensconsed in a playoff seat right now, I'm sure of it.

I don't have a problem with Rashard on the roster if he & the org. would admit that he's a 3rd option at best, and should be paid accordingly. He was a coach's choice as all star only because of heavy campaigning by Nate. After his dismal performance there (the ONLY player to get an F rating from ESPN) he will probably never get there again.

No one is blaming Rashard for the Sonics floundering. He just ain't worth what he thinks he is, and we shouldn't be raising his pay this coming contract. I say offer him what we offered Radman. If he doesn't want it, trade him.

i think it's time to weigh in on this further (I do apologize for my earlier comment... anyone that doesn't have a two year old probably didn't get it...)

I do not see Bob Hill doing poorly next year... however, that also does not mean he will light the world on fire, either. None of his NBA teams ever got to that "next level" we are so eager to reach. (even his Pacer teams with Reggie, Chuck Person and Detlef)

However, the thing that gives me hope is the fact that you can be an offensive team in the NBA and still win. You just have to play good enough defense to stop the other team in spurts. Just look at the Suns... they don't play a lick of defense. Mike D'Antoni doesn't give a shit... just as long as they make those three or four key stops a game, they win. That is what I see our Sonics doing next year, which at the very least will make them fun to watch. I think no one can dispute the fact that the Bob Hill Sonics are a more fun product to observe that the Nate McMillan version.

Now, regular season NBA is nothing like the playoffs, so I really don't know how they will do once they get there. Usually teams like the Suns wilt and die around the second round. (I am interested to see how they do this year) Maybe Ray will just take over and we'll make a deep run, maybe not...

I'm just hopin' that ping pong ball is filled with helium, baby. Remember, the Sonics had the second best record of all non-playoff teams on the year when that ping-pong ball slid up the chute and we got the Glove...

My quibble with the "you can be an offensive team ... and still win" argument is that it is only true to a certain level. The Mavericks, Suns, and Kings have shown you can only win one or two rounds in the playoffs with that strategy, but that you'll never advance to the finals with it.

In fact, I looked it up and here's some interesting numbers about it (82games has done a much more thorough review than this, but it'll do for here):

1. In the past 10 NBA Finals, only 2 teams out of 20 ('01 Lakers, '98 Jazz) have finished lower than 15th in ppg allowed.

2. Only 4 times out of those same 20 teams has someone made the finals despite finishing out of the top 10 in points allowed.

In other words, 80% of the teams in the NBA finals since 1996 have finished in the top 10 of ppg allowed. Sadly, it seems inevitable to me that the Sonics are going to have to dramatically improve their defense and their roster to contend for the title.

The counter-argument is, of course, "What's wrong with being Phoenix/Dallas/Sac-to of the Pacific Northwest? After all, isn't it better to lose in the 2nd round than not to be in it at all?"

Well, I suggest you ask Sonic fans circa 1998 that question. The Sonics routinely made the playoffs and lost in the first or second round, so much so that George Karl lost his job because of it and we were forced to endure 10 years of mediocrity.

No, unless things change dramatically this postseason and the Spurs lose to the Suns, it seems to me the Sonics are going to pursue another option at center beyond the youngsters, seriously consider ditching Luke Ridnour, and pray that Chris Wilcox begins to figure out how to play some D.

"It's kind of bizarre how this town has turned on Rashard. If you look at his stats, he's actually having a better season this year than last (all stats are identical, with the exception of his picking up an extra assist/game this year), yet people talk about him as if he's the reason why the Sonics are floundering."

5.1 rebounds/gm this year, 5.5 last season.

Relying on stats is illogical. Lewis will score 28 with 8 boards one night and 12-3 the next. His lack of consistancy is what's turning fans against him (not to mention his defensive ineptitude).

They'll win if Hill can keep everyone happy. The Sonics have two young role-playing centers in Swift and Petro that look as though they have got plenty more potential with an offseason of hard work and advice from Sikma.

Obviously, it was getting harder for Luke to sit the end of the game out for the sake of Earl Watson and his defense, so if he can keep that relationship happy, he can win next year.

To stir up some thought: It's time to trade Rashard Lewis and their pick (which should be around 10) and move up on the draft board to grab Morrison, a competitor that would give the Sonics a little fire, or a small foward to replace Lewis.

If Rashard was as inconsistent as you say this year, wouldn't he have been the same last year? My point was that he hasn't changed at all from last season, but the fans' perception of him has done a 180. There were a few folks that wanted him out last season, but you could have counted them on one hand. Now, 75% of the fans I hear from seem to think Rashard is a major problem on the Sonics, even though his game has not regressed a bit.

Look, I know his defense is wanting, but how many small forwards are out there that are as good as him, and are available? It would be odd to dump Rashard in exchange for Adam Morrison, in that Morrison will be a rookie, isn't known for his defense, and is a step slow. How is this better than Rashard? Best case, Morrison scores 17 points a game with 5 or 6 boards. Neither of those categories is an improvement over Lewis, and - to boot - Lewis is taller than Morrison to begin with.

I know it's tempting to jettison players when your team struggles, but Rashard is not the problem, unless his salary demands are out of whack. Unless he's going to bring a proven, veteran center in exchange I wouldn't move him.

Nobody wants to see soft ass, chewy in the center, kool-aid blooded Adam Morrison on the Sonics. Just stop please.

Q -

" I think no one can dispute the fact that the Bob Hill Sonics are a more fun product to observe that the Nate McMillan version."

I don't know about you dude but I enjoyed the hell out of 52 wins and the incredible semis against San Antonio. I liked what Nate was doing, basically saying "f*ck, you Sund/Walker/Shultz I'm not playin this stupid ass Phoenix suns/Dallas Mavericks type of ball that you wanna see. I actually had a decent career in the NBA unlike any of you and I know what I'm talkin about, so as far as what brand of basketball this team plays, I got this, go sit down and shut the F up"

We won't be that good again for a looooooooooong time, I know that most people in Seattle (haters) give Nate zero credit for last season. But you see where we are without him. You can try the weak argument of "oh, look what he's doing in portland" but you and I know that there's not a coach in the world who could win with that roster. Bob Hill is comin back for next season, fine, whatever, I would have loved to see us try to coax coach Casey back from Minnesota but whatever. I'm not happy about it, I ain't sad about it, it is what it is. I hope we can be respectable next season. I for 1 am of the opinion that we should let Sund/Walker/Shultz hit the bricks with their team, be without for a few years and get a new team with a new and improved ownership group/owner. I want those fools gone and if that's the way it'll get done, so be it.

Oh one more thing. It's not Rashards fault AT ALL!!!!! Yeah he is a bit inconsistent, yeah he slacks on D, but he's a dead eye shooter and he spreads the d and commands the attention of the other teams 3. It's not Rashard, sorry but it's just not. I agree 100% with Nuss, unless he wants outrageous money, keep him.

Adam Morrison, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, what we lose a game and he's rollin around on the floor cryin like a bitch, this is the NBA No Babies Allowed, take that shit somewhere else, can you say WNBA All-Star Forward Adam Morrison (actually he'd probably play center in that league, and still would never dunk on anyone). lol

The Sonics shouldn't look for a player to fill their needs, the Sonics NEED A PLAYER WITH INTANGIBLES. Maybe you won't agree with Morrison, but one has to agree that someone on the Sonics needs to step it up and show some intangibles.

The reason I brought Morrison in the picture is from looking over the mock drafts and early entries, Morrison has the intangibles and the fire that has disappeared from the NBA.

"Morrison has the intangibles and the fire that has disappeared from the NBA. "

Now do you guys see what I'm talkin' about when I say "great white hope", the above statement is the silliest shit I've heard in a long time, like AMO has more heart and fire than cats like Dwayne Wade, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James etc, Rashard Lewis has more heart than Adam Morrison. Just absolutly silly, wow.

Next I'm gonna hear that Linas Kleiza has the best post moves in the past 20yrs. Ridiculous.

eww, what this young team needs now is encouragement, not a coach who will rip on his players to the media. screw larry brown. if hubie comes out of retirement though i hope we can get him on board, but it's too late. i support bob hill the way now.

I loved the playoffs, too, but as far as the up-and-down game flow is concerned, the "new look" Sonics are light years ahead of the old. I like wins as much as the next guy, but that is not what I am talking about, here. What I AM talking about is style of play. Bob Hill's Sonics are much closer to George Karl's Sonics, without the trapping "were playing zone, but trying not to look like it" defensive style. Nate McMillan's favorite coach is Jerry Sloan, so it stands to reason that the style of play they won with was half-court, execution, pick-and-roll basketball. The Sonics were 29th in offensive possessions per game when they had thier playoff run, so you can definitely say they were not a "running" team.

I like teams that run... I like athletic, fast break, showtime, 120-118 basketball. I feel so sorry for those poor folks in Memphis that have to endure those awful 78-75 overtime wins. I don't care that they are going to playoffs this year. If I were in Memphis, I would root for them, but I probably wouldn't watch them.